Returnal managed to finish second on the UK sales charts at launch, but it debuted a lot lower than other major PlayStation exclusive titles. It’s worth noting that, in frustrating fashion, Britain’s best-sellers list is comprised of physical sales only – and thus is missing a major piece of the puzzle, as consumers continue to skew towards digital purchases.
To be fair, the Housemarque developed roguelike has been difficult to find in stores, with not many supermarkets carrying copies and the game being in-and-out of stock online. It’s also possible that Sony didn’t manufacture many units, as pre-order numbers may have been low prior to the initial round of previews, which spiked interest in the title only a couple of weeks ago. And, of course, we’d be remiss to overlook the price, which at £69.99 has always proven a difficult pill to swallow.
Still, this is just one territory with crucial digital sales excluded, so it’s certainly not the end of the world – and, to be honest, anecdotally our friends list has been filled with Returnal players all weekend.
The rest of the UK sales charts make for dull reading really, although it was a better week for boxed sales in Britain: Grand Theft Auto V and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War both enjoyed week-over-week increases in sales. Last week’s winner, NieR: Replicant, dropped all the way to 22nd position after a 73 per cent slide in sales, while Terminator: Resistance Enhanced snuck in at 37th place.
UK Sales Charts: Week Ending 1st May, 2021
- New Pokémon Snap
- Returnal
- Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
- Mario Kart 8: Deluxe
- Animal Crossing New Horizons
- FIFA 21
- Minecraft: Switch Edition
- Grand Theft Auto V
- Ring Fit Adventure
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
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